The Story of Hawaii: History, Customs, Mythology, Geography & Archaeology. Fowke Gerard

      O na ku'i hauoli

O Ha'i-ka-manawa.²⁰

      O Laka oe,

      O ke akua i ke kuahu nei, la;

      E ho'i, ho'i mai a noho i kou kuahu!

      [Translation]

      Altar-Prayer (to Laka)

      Here am I, oh Laka from the mountains,

      Oh Laka from the shore;

      Protect us

      Against the dog that barks;

      Reside in the wild-twining maile

      And the goddess-enwreathing ti.

      All, the joyful pulses.

      Of the woman Ha'i-ka-manawa!

      Thou art Laka,

      The god of this altar;

      Return, , abide in thy shrine!

      The prayers which the hula folk of old times chanted while gathering the material in the woods or while weaving it into shape in the halau for the construction of a shrine did not form a rigid liturgy; they formed rather a repertory as elastic as the sighing of the breeze, or the songs of the birds whose notes embroidered the pure mountain air. There were many altar-prayers, so that if a prayer came to an end before the work was done the priest had but to begin the recitation of another prayer, or, if the spirit of the occasion so moved him, he would take up again a prayer already repeated, for until the work was entirely accomplished the voice of prayer must continue to be heard.

      The pule now to be given seems to be specially suited to that portion of the service which took place in the woods at the gathering of the poles and greenery. It was designed specially for the placating of the little god-folk who from their number were addressed as Kini o ke Akua, the multitude of the little gods, and who were the counterparts in old Hawaii of our brownies, elfins, sprites, kobolds, gnomes, and other woodland imps. These creatures, though dwarfish and insignificant in person, were in such numbers--four thousand, forty thousand, four hundred thousand--and were so impatient of any invasion of their territory, so jealous of their prerogatives, so spiteful and revengeful when injured, that it was policy always to keep on the right side of them.

       Pule Kuahu

E hooulu ana I Kini²¹ o ke Akua,

      Ka lehu o ke Akua,

      Ka mano o ke Akua,

      I ka pu-ku'i o ke Akua,

      I ka lalani Akua,

      Ia ulu mai o Kane,

      Ulu o Kanaloa;

      Ulu ka ohia, lau ka ie-ie;

      Ulu ke Akua, noho i ke kahua,

      A a'ea'e, a ulu, a noho kou kuahu.

      Eia ka pule la, he pule ola.

       Chorus:

      E ola ana oe!

      [Translation]

       Altar-Prayer

      Invoke we now the four thousand,

      The myriads four of the nimble,

      The four hundred thousand elves,

      The countless host of sprites,

      Rank upon rank of woodland gods.

      Pray, Kane, also inspire us;

      Kanaloa, too, join the assembly.

      Now grows the ohi'a, now leafs ie-ie;

      God enters, resides in the place;

      He mounts, inspires, abides in the shrine.

      This is our prayer, our plea this for life!

       Chorus:

      Life shall be thine!

      From one point of view these pule are not to be regarded as prayers in the ordinary sense of the word, but rather as song-offerings, verbal bouquets, affectionate sacrifices to the gods.

² Ai-lolo. See pp. 32, 34, 36.

³ Wao-kele. That portion of the mountain forest where grew the monarch trees was called wao-kele or wao-maukele.

⁴ Na Kane. Why was the offering, the black roast porkling, said to be for Kane, who was not a special patron, au-makúa, of the hula? The only answer the author has been able to obtain from any Hawaiian is that, though Kane was not a god of the hula, he was a near relative. On reflection, the author can see a propriety in devoting the reeking flesh of the swine to god Kane, while to the sylvan deity, Lâkâ, goddess of the peaceful hula, were devoted the rustic offerings that were the embodiment of her charms. Her image, or token--an uncarved block of wood--was set up in a prominent part of the kuahu, and at the close of a performance the wreaths that had been worn by the actors were draped about the image. Thus viewed, there is a delicate propriety and significance in such disposal of the pig.

⁵ Maka-li'i (Small eyes). The Pleiades; also the period of six months, including the rainy season, that began some time in October or November and was reckoned from the date when the Pleiades appeared in the East at sunset. Maka-li'i was also the name of a month, by some reckoned as the first month of the year.

⁶ Maka-léi. The name of a famous mythological tree which had the power of attracting fish. It did not poison, but only bewitched or fascinated them. There were two trees bearing this name, one a male, the other a female, which both grew at a place in Hilo called Pali-uli. One of these, the female, was, according to tradition, carried from its root home to the fish ponds in Kailua, Oahu, for the purpose of attracting fish to the neighboring waters. The enterprise was eminently successful.

⁷ Po. Literally night; the period in cosmogony when darkness and chaos reigned, before the affairs on earth had become settled under the rule of the gods. Here the word is used to indicate a period of remote mythologic antiquity. The use of the word Po in the following verse reminds one of the French adage, "La nuit porte conseil."

⁸ Kokúa. Another form for kakúa, to gird on the pa-ú. (See Pa-ú song, pp. 51–53.)

⁹ Uníki. A word not given in the dictionary. The debut of an actor at the hula, after passing the ai-lolo test and graduating from the school of the halau, a critical event.

¹⁰ Ha-íke-íke. Equivalent to ho-íke-íke, an exhibition, to exhibit.

¹¹ Ou-alii. The Hawaiians seem to have lost the meaning of this word. The author has been at some pains to work it out somewhat conjecturally.